If a 6-second drum break from 1969 can be used as the backbone for over 3000 multiple genre spanning tracks, take some time to think about how design patterns can be used to support your work and create new things, not just restrict it.

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://daringfireball.net/2019/01/pentagram_slack_range_of_possibilities
https://daringfireball.net/2019/01/pentagram_slack_range_of_possibilitiespostThu, 17 Jan 2019 09:30:00 +0000John Gruber's take on Pentagram's range of possibilities for Slack's redesign. I'd agree with him; some shocking work here. Pretty easy to judge on face value, though.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-to-back-to-top-button-without-scroll-events/
https://m.signalvnoise.com/how-to-back-to-top-button-without-scroll-events/postThu, 17 Jan 2019 09:30:00 +0000Nifty How-To from the newly launched Signal v. Noise. First time i've heard of the Intersection Observer API.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://css-tricks.com/how-ive-been-using-notion-personally-and-professionally/
https://css-tricks.com/how-ive-been-using-notion-personally-and-professionally/postThu, 17 Jan 2019 09:30:00 +0000I've been using Notes on Mac OS for ages now. Everythign from shopping lists, to where I parked my car at the airport, to much more important things. It's ok, but, like Chris, I've been hankering for something more.

<

blockquote>I like the native macOS Notes app just fine. It's quick and easy, it's desktop and mobile, it syncs... but there are enough limitations that I wanted something better. Plus, I wanted something team-based and web-friendly (shared URLs!) and Notion hits those nails on the h...

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/build-a-blog/
https://www.filamentgroup.com/lab/build-a-blog/postWed, 16 Jan 2019 16:10:00 +0000Zach from Filament Group have a good write up on making a quick blog with Eleventy. The opening paragraph pretty much sums up my relationship with Terminal.

Does the command line stress you out? Have you been burned one too many times by confusing error messages and unintuitive syntax? Don’t worry, that’s pretty common. If you invest a little time learning about the command line, you can educate yourself out of those feelings and unlock a new tier of productivity.

I al...

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/14-20-january-2019/pentagrams-emily-oberman-on-branding-j-k-rowlings-magical-universe/
https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/14-20-january-2019/pentagrams-emily-oberman-on-branding-j-k-rowlings-magical-universe/postWed, 16 Jan 2019 15:40:00 +0000Wonderfful branding work from Pentagram for J.K. Rowling's growing magical universe. I think it balances the line between visual cliche and refreshing really well. It's comfortable, nostalgic, expected, but also timeless and refreshing in other ways. A particular favourite element of the branding system of mine is the new typeface called 'Harry Beast':]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2019/01/14/f1-reveals-that-over-two-thirds-of-fans-didnt-care-about-its-new-logo/#2e7b733306c5
https://www.forbes.com/sites/csylt/2019/01/14/f1-reveals-that-over-two-thirds-of-fans-didnt-care-about-its-new-logo/#2e7b733306c5postWed, 16 Jan 2019 15:20:00 +0000Is anyone ever surprised that new logo designs are often met with either outrage or 'meh'. I don't think i've ever heard of anyone loving a new logo other than the CMO and the agency or designer who created it.

Formula One has revealed that more than two thirds of its fans were indifferent about its controversial decision to change its logo last year.

Of course new brand identities are important. And logo iterations are important aspects of that evolution. But testing ...

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2019/01/material-design-for-google-docs-sheets.html
https://gsuiteupdates.googleblog.com/2019/01/material-design-for-google-docs-sheets.htmlpostWed, 16 Jan 2019 15:20:00 +0000More not-so-subtle design changes to software I use every day. Y'know, I am all for steady improvement. But relentless interface changes in applications that I use every day is getting a little tiresome. SaaS UI fatigue is really a thing.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://m.signalvnoise.com/signal-v-noise-exits-medium/
https://m.signalvnoise.com/signal-v-noise-exits-medium/postWed, 16 Jan 2019 14:48:00 +0000I wonder if this is a trend. Medium's draw was certainly – for me anyway – similar: different audiences, different reach, and opportunities of cross pollination of content that you can't get easily with decentralised systems.

These days Medium is focused on their membership offering, though. Trying to aggregate writing from many sources and sell a broad subscription on top of that. And it’s a neat model, and it’s wonderful to see Medium try something different. But it’s not for us, and it’s not for Signal v Noise.
Writing for us is not a business, in any direct sense of the word. We write because we have something to say, not to make money off page views, advertisements, or subscriptions. If some readers end up signing up for Basecamp, that’s great. But if they just like to read and not buy, that’s also great.

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212http://www.worldswritingsystems.org/
http://www.worldswritingsystems.org/postMon, 14 Jan 2019 18:10:00 +0000Fascinating site with a presentation of 292 different writing systems of humankind; only 146 are encoded by Unicode.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://v3.statamic.com/blog
https://v3.statamic.com/blogpostMon, 14 Jan 2019 12:23:00 +0000Statamic 3 gets its own blog with details about its upcoming (Q1?) release. Big changes are afoot so for someone like me who cries a little bit every time I try and write some real code, this version looks like it might be quite a bit more of a learning curve. Of course, I can't really upgrade the blog until some of the plugins have also been upgraded.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://www.11ty.io/
https://www.11ty.io/postMon, 14 Jan 2019 12:23:00 +0000I've been meaning to give Eleventy a go for a little while now. Statamic 3 is looming on the horizon (looming in a positive way), but I always like to keep my head above water with some of the CMS market. Useful stuff to know.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212http://alexpounds.com/blog/2018/12/29/four-cool-urls
http://alexpounds.com/blog/2018/12/29/four-cool-urlspostMon, 14 Jan 2019 12:23:00 +0000Like Jeremy (and hat-tip for the link), I'm a sucker for URL schema. This is a nice little blog post going into detail of four. My favourite is still Traintimes.org.uk.

<

blockquote>URLs have been around for more than 20 years. They're a method of "identifying a resource", which means "unambiguously pointing to something on the internet." That's how they're normally used: URLs point to websites, articles, images, son...

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOUtkN6M52M&feature=youtu.be&t=269
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOUtkN6M52M&feature=youtu.be&t=269postMon, 14 Jan 2019 12:23:00 +0000Following on from Heydon's recent post on container queries, I stumbled across a video he'd made on making future interfaces. Great explanation on modern layout conundrums.
]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://cathydutton.co.uk/posts/why-i-stopped-using-sass/
https://cathydutton.co.uk/posts/why-i-stopped-using-sass/postMon, 14 Jan 2019 12:23:00 +0000Cathy writes a very informative post about how she's moved away from Sass.

My latest site redesign and why I left out Sass and media queries in favour of native CSS grid, calc, viewport units and custom properties.}

The interesting thing here is that, largely, she says, the knock-on effect was that doing this removed media queries. I'm inspired to see if I could do this on my own blog design and see if you can still retain the necessary subtle design tweaks – which med...

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212http://www.heydonworks.com/article/the-flexbox-holy-albatross
http://www.heydonworks.com/article/the-flexbox-holy-albatrosspostMon, 14 Jan 2019 11:50:00 +0000This is very clever. Looks like Heydon may have given us a solution for container queries without container queries and by usig a clever combination of flexbox, calc, and --multiplier. And a smart brain.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://blog.github.com/2019-01-07-new-year-new-github/
https://blog.github.com/2019-01-07-new-year-new-github/postTue, 08 Jan 2019 15:50:00 +0000Github announces that all Free accounts now have unlimited private repos. Amazing news.

GitHub Free now includes unlimited private repositories. For the first time, developers can use GitHub for their private projects with up to three collaborators per repository for free. Many developers want to use private repos to apply for a job, work on a side project, or try something out in private before releasing it publicly.

]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/using-the-ipad-pro-as-my-main-computer
https://hicksdesign.co.uk/journal/using-the-ipad-pro-as-my-main-computerpostTue, 08 Jan 2019 15:30:00 +0000Jon Hicks with a long, detailed, and informative blog post on how he's moved onto the iPad Pro for more of his design work. Some good links to other software as part of his workflow at the end of the post as well.]]>0b8ebb06-7604-46c9-8aa9-0102cc0ff212https://uxdesign.cc/design-better-forms-96fadca0f49c
https://uxdesign.cc/design-better-forms-96fadca0f49cpostFri, 30 Nov 2018 11:10:00 +0000I love this type of design advice. Simple do/don't guidance on the most basic of things that many people either don't consider or wilfully ignore.

Whether it is a signup flow, a multi-view stepper, or a monotonous data entry interface, forms are one of the most important components of digital product design. This article focuses on the common dos and don’ts of form design. Keep in mind that these are general guideline and there are exceptions to every rule.